Did you know that gambling is legal in Nevada? Of course you did. What this means is that people from surrounding states have to cross the Nevada border if they want to blow all their money at a craps table. As a result, every town on the Nevada border, no matter how small, is filled with casinos to capitalize on the tourist trade. Case in point: Wendover, NV - the first tiny desert town we encountered immediately after crossing over from Utah, was home to half a dozen large, garish, off-strip-Vegas-style casinos. It was a bizarre mix of rural desolation (read: dirt roads and trailer parks) and big town casino sleaze (read: lots of big neon signs and multi-story hotels). The gas station we stopped at to get a car wash and fill the tank had a service station, an Arby's, and a casino all under one roof.
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Once the car was clean and full of gas, we sped off west down the highway toward Reno. The middle of Nevada presented us with wide expanses of loneliness to rival Kansas, but this was at least tempered by the beautiful mountains and rocky landscapes that stretched out on either side of the road.
Civilization once again appeared as we reached Reno and turned south to head toward Stateline, NV - our home for the night on Lake Tahoe, right on the California border. The drive out to south lake Tahoe was gorgeous, as the road wound up through the mountains to get to the lake. We tried our best to get pictures, but the light was fading, and it's tough to take night shots from a moving car.
We arrived at our hotel, the MontBleu Resort Hotel & Casino, around 8:30 pm. We quickly checked in and went to the room to change and prepare for a night of gambling.
The MontBleu Casino was quite nice, if small compared to a Vegas casino. We spent a short time poking around the table games to see what was available, then quickly settled in at one of the two craps tables. We managed to stay in for a good couple hours, and Mike actually left the table up. Jon was not so lucky. After Jon lost the last of his money at the roulette table, Mike finished out his night with blackjack and walked away with a profit.
With gambling done for the night, Jon's curiosity led us into Opal, the casino's "ultra lounge". The brochure had promised hookahs and go-go dancers, so on the surface it seemed like a chill place to end the night. Sadly, this was not the case: the music in the "lounge" was so loud that conversations had to be held at a full yell, and Jon's expectation of comfortable seating and available hookahs for relaxation turned out to be laughably naive. There were go-go dancers, though - so, you know, there's that.
After a couple of beers at the lounge, we retired back to the room to grab some z's before our last day of driving.
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